Dr. Ansel Nalin ’14, MD, Ph.D.

Radiation Oncology Resident, MD Anderson

Major: CHEMISTRY

Minor: THEOLOGY

Though the completion of both a medical degree and doctorate already distinguishes Dr. Ansel Nalin ’14, MD, Ph.D. as exemplary in his field, he has further set himself apart with his award-winning cancer research and commitment to empowering others through relationship-centered service.

After graduating summa cum laude from Notre Dame in 2014, Dr. Nalin entered the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. As a doctoral student, his research on cancer immunology and the mechanisms of human natural killer cell development earned him a competitive National Cancer Institute F30 Grant Award as a principal investigator at the age of 26. Dr. Nalin would go on to co-author 19 research publications during his MD/Ph.D., earning him multiple honors, including the prestigious Medical Scientist Award at his commencement.

While excelling in the field of research and scholarship, Dr. Nalin also dedicated time to share his expertise and talents with others, leading tutoring services for medical and pre-medical students from underrepresented backgrounds preparing for national exams. He also committed himself to educating others in the undergraduate CAMELOT program in Cancer Mentoring, Education, Leadership, and Oncology Related Training for visiting student researchers, serving as a lead mentor for six years. His love of running led him to serve as a track-and-field volunteer with the Special Olympics, and he also volunteers in the Order of Malta Free Clinic, which provides free, on-site preventative health care services to uninsured and low-income patients.

An active member of the Catholic Medical Association, Dr. Nalin won the St. Luke’s Faith and Reason Award for his embodiment of Catholic medical practices. Most recently, Dr. Nalin matched into the top-ranked radiation oncology residency program in the U.S. at M.D. Anderson, where he continues to impact areas of cancer research and treatment.

Ashley Kyalwazi ’18

Medical and Health Policy Student, Harvard Medical School & Harvard Kennedy School 

Major: NEUROSCIENCE AND BEHAVIOR

Minor: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND VALUES

Possessing a zeal for learning and passion for advancing social justice, Ashley Kyalwazi ’18 has made it her mission to use her platform to mentor the next generation of healthcare professionals from underrepresented backgrounds.

A first-generation African American student, Kyalwazi fostered her commitment to educational equity and mentorship during her time as an undergraduate at Notre Dame. Understanding what it meant to overcome structural barriers to education, she served as both a Building Bridges and Balfour mentor, programs that seek to assist historically underserved first-year students with their transition to college. Taking her dedication to this mission a step further, Kyalwazi founded Notre Dame’s first chapter of Matriculate Advising Fellows, a nonprofit organization that uses a virtual platform to connect low-income high school students with current college students. 

As a current dual medical and masters in public policy student at Harvard, Kyalwazi leads national studies as a Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Fellow that explore the intersection of health policy, health equity, and cardiovascular health outcomes for historically marginalized populations. While excelling in the classroom, she has managed to also found the MV3 Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to build and empower a community of Black scholars poised to positively impact the future of health and biomedical sciences through mentorship, scholarships, academic support, and leadership development.

For her exceptional leadership and commitment to advancing health equity, Kyalwazi was named a Gleitsman Leadership Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government through the Center for Public Leadership. Currently, she plans to apply for an internal medicine residency in the fall of 2023, eager to build a career as a physician, policymaker, and social entrepreneur, where she will continue advocating for the development of innovative and equitable opportunities for marginalized populations to achieve optimal health. 

Bryan Dimas ’14

Line Producer, Development, Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios

Majors: Film, Television & Theatre | Electrical Engineering

A trailblazer in his own field of production, animation, and entertainment, Bryan Dimas ’14 carves out time and energy to make space for other underrepresented artists and filmmakers across the entertainment industry.

As a Line Producer for Development at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, Dimas oversees and manages the production of animated projects across the categories of Preschool, Kids & Family, Longform, and Alternative/Adult. Originally from Houston, Texas, Dimas arrived to Notre Dame as a QuestBridge Scholar, overcoming challenging life circumstances to attend the University.
Through hard work and resilience, he got his start in the entertainment industry while a Reilly Dual-Degree student at Notre Dame, graduating with both electrical engineering and film, television & theatre majors. As an FTT major, Dimas participated in the Film and Digital Production Program, where he produced several live-action short films and animated projects.

As a Latino in Hollywood, Dimas dedicated himself to co-founding the LatinX in Animation (LXiA), which is a signature program of the Latino Film Institute, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to mentor, develop, and support Latinx filmmakers with independent and diverse visions, and to elevate the standards of Latinx story development and presentation of Latinx culture in the industry. Dimas remains committed to LXiA’s mission of empowering diversity in animation, VFX, and gaming by organizing events, mentorship opportunities, workshops, grants, learning curriculums, and more. Even though the organization is relatively new, Dimas has helped to grow their audience to over 10,000 people.

Through his indie production company, Ocelotl Productions, Dimas produced a live-action Oscar-qualifying short film “Frank & Emmet,” which premiered in fall 2021 and has been featured at over 30 film festivals worldwide. “Frank and Emmet” received several awards for Best Live-Action Short Film, which qualified the film for consideration for the 2023 Academy Awards. Dimas is currently producing an animated short film, “Remember Us,” which focuses on the Salvadoran Civil War and is slated to premiere in 2024.

Dimas serves as a committee member for Notre Dame’s Media & Entertainment Leadership Committee, which works to strengthen opportunities for students and alumni aspiring for careers in the media and entertainment industries. He not only opens doors for other Latino creatives, but helps them to walk through.

Elizabeth Wood ’14

Senior Attorney, Immigration Intervention Project, Sanctuary for Families

Major: PROGRAM OF LIBERAL STUDIES

Supplemental Major: SPANISH

Enacting positive change for her clients at an individual, community, and national level, Elizabeth Wood ’14 continues to fuel her passion for serving historically marginalized populations as a Senior Attorney with Sanctuary for Families’ Immigration Intervention Project.

On any given day, Wood is directly responsible for the legal defense of anywhere from 60-100 cases in immigration proceedings in New York City.  She represents immigrant women and children navigating a legally complex and underfunded immigration system while also supervising a staff with equally significant caseloads. Despite each case’s individual complexities and challenges, Wood remains both undaunted and compassionate in helping women and children who have endured unspeakable traumas gain legal status in the United States. Whether the victim is a victim of cartel gang violence, a Central American separated from their parents at the border, or a Ukrainian feeling war, Wood accompanies these clients with empathy and a warm demeanor by talking through, documenting, and communicating these traumatic experiences during immigration and family court proceedings.

 Wood’s success in helping her clients win legal status began at Catholic Charities in New York City.   There she progressed from a staff attorney to supervising attorney within the Unaccompanied Minors Program (UMP) allowing her to teach and mentor other attorneys— and also took on the role of Legal Director with UMP’s partnership with Terra Firma a medical legal partnership helping to provide holistic medical and legal care to unaccompanied youth.  Recently, Wood sought to expand her engagement through a new role at Sanctuary for Families which allows her to continue her work with and advocating for youth, but also allows her to work with adult women escaping gender based violence.

During law school at Fordham, Wood created public facing guides for refugee seekers completing a Request for Review, investigated land tenure security and traditional governance in rural South Africa, and interned for both Terra Firma and The Door: A Center for Alternatives. She has also worked on anti-human trafficking initiatives that concentrate on enhanced employment services for trafficking survivors.

Making tangible change to our nation’s immigration laws, rules, and practices, Wood is engaged in the immigration policy discussion through her casework, published work and legal comments, and has given multiple presentations to law enforcement and public sector organizations. Her service-minded and mission-centered leadership and care towards her work makes her a Domer who fully lives out Notre Dame’s call to serve those most in need.

Garrett Blad ’15

Civic Engagement Director, Faith in Indiana

Major: Sustainable Policy and Development

Supplemental Major: Environmental Science

Garret Blad ’15, though offered other opportunities across the world to fight climate change and engage in activism, chose to return to his home state of Indiana to ignite positive change in the community that raised him.

Since graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in environmental science and sustainable policy, Blad has been a leading voice for young Americans in the fight for social, racial, and climate justice. In 2015, Blad joined the U.S. Youth Delegation to the Paris Climate Talks, helping to cement the most aggressive warming limit in the Paris Agreement. As a part of his role in launching the Sunrise Movement, Blad led a mass demonstration for the Green New Deal in November 2018 — a viral moment that helped to make climate change a political priority.

After moving back to Indiana, Blad became involved in local climate efforts to protect parcels of land subject to bulldozing and paving into industrial parking lots. When an opportunity arose during the pandemic to run for state representative, he took a chance as a rookie candidate on a shoestring budget, running as an openly gay, climate justice-centered candidate. Though losing by a slim margin, Blad did not waver in his commitment to his home state.

Now, as Civic Engagement Director at Faith in Indiana, Blad has played a significant role in working across the aisle to support legislation to make mental health services more accessible across Indiana. Recently, he testified about his family’s personal grief regarding the loss of his brother, which in many ways resulted from failures of the state’s medical system. Blad helped lead the “Call for Care” campaign that passed legislation to invest $100 million to revolutionize Indiana’s mental health care system.

Blad has committed himself to daily community organizing in order to advocate for environmental, social, and economic progress to support the liberation of all people, especially those who are marginalized in society. He maintains a strong tie to the University, pursuing ongoing educational opportunities by auditing classes in the Portuguese department and working with administrators and professors with whom he has fostered deep working relationships.

Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu ’15, ’16

3D Printing Research Engineer, HP Inc.

Majors: Mechanical Engineering, Design

Both during and after her time at Notre Dame, Double Domer Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu ’15, ’16 has excelled in faith, service, learning, and work.

Born in Benin City, Nigeria, but later moving to Marietta, Georgia, Nwaogwugwu arrived on campus as a Balfour-Hesburgh scholar, a Notre Dame program that provides high-achieving students from underrepresented backgrounds with a close-knit learning community of current students at Notre Dame. Though kept busy as an undergraduate as a Reilly Dual-Degree student, an active member of the African Students Association and the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir, and as a varsity weight and hammer thrower on the Notre Dame track team, Nwaogwugwu still made time to nurture and prioritize her faith life, traveling off campus to attend services at Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in South Bend, where she became a valued parishioner and fostered relationships with local community members.

Nwaogwugwu’s work ethic and devotion to her studies led her to become a Double Domer, earning degrees in both mechanical engineering and industrial design. Upon graduation, she accepted a role at Hewlett Packard, where she now works as a 3D Printing Research Engineer. Working directly with Multi Jet Fusion Technology prototyping and production machines, Nwaogwugwu leads innovative advancements in the 3D printing industry while also serving as a role model for women engineers and engineers of color.

In 2018, Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu ’16 showed up to a Notre Dame Club of San Diego meeting for the first time. Soon, she was helping to lead one of the largest projects that the club coordinates — the Casa de los Pobres county-wide candy collection involving 40 parishes and schools that donate their leftover Halloween treats to children most in need in Tijuana, Mexico, at Christmas time. Nwaogwugwu carried forth this community effort for several years, coordinating club volunteers and working closely with the local diocese.

Fast forward five years and Nwaogwugwu now serves as the club’s first Black president and second female president in its 74-year history, leading day-to-day operations and welcoming other alumni of color to get involved in club activities. She continues to inspire future generations of Domers and alumni, parents, and friends to be a force for good for their local communities and beyond.

Kyle Witzigman ’16

Policy Manager, Amazon

Major: Political Scirence

Minors: Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Studies

A transracial and international adoptee, Kyle Witzigman ’16 is building a life that engages both parts of his American and Vietnamese identity. Growing up in Springdale, Arkansas, Witzigman has navigated his Vietnamese heritage and southern Razorback roots.

Since he was an undergraduate at Notre Dame, Witzigman has sought opportunities to understand more about his birth country, working at his adoption agency headquarters, working with Agent Orange victims, and interning at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. After graduating in 2016, Witzigman spent a year teaching in Tuyen Quang, Vietnam on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. He later joined the founding team of Fulbright University Vietnam, the country’s first liberal arts university. The first graduating class of undergraduates received their degrees this past June 2023.

In 2019, Witzigman returned to the States to enroll in Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, earning his master in public policy while serving as a board member of Harvard’s Asian American and LGBTQ+ student groups. Upon graduation, he moved to Washington, D.C.

Outside of his day job as a policy manager at Amazon Advertising, Witzigman is an active member of the Viet Place Collective, a community organization that advocates on behalf of over 100 Vietnamese-owned businesses in Falls Church, VA—a landing ground for Vietnamese immigrants since the 1980s. When the city made plans to develop a large shopping plaza this past fall, the Viet Place Collective mobilized and promoted Vietnamese voices as an active part of the city’s development plans, advocating for anti-displacement measures including business protections, language specialists, and the inclusion of cultural arts that celebrate Vietnamese heritage.

Witzigman’s dedication to discerning his identity and using it to be of service to others has led him to transform his local Vietnamese community. His hope for a brighter future includes a vision in which ethnicity, citizenship status, and race do not define one’s ability to transform the world for good. Witzigman resides in D.C. with his partner, David.

Lizzie Heilmann ’15

Epidemiology Fellow, Center for Disease Control Global Health Fellowship Program

Major: Biological Sciences

Taking to heart the call to serve those most in need across the world, Lizzie Heilmann ’15 has spent her early career promoting better access to public health services in African communities.

Heilmann studied drug resistance in malaria parasites as an undergraduate at Notre Dame, which inspired her to become an epidemiologist to more fully understand diseases and the communities in which they spread. While pursuing a master’s in public health at Emory University, she analyzed malaria data from a mass bed net campaign in Nigeria and tutored refugees in English. These formative experiences helped prepare Heilmann for a service stint with the Peace Corps as a health volunteer in Zambia.

Living and working in rural Zambia, Heilmann witnessed firsthand the health challenges of the community. She worked alongside neighborhood health committees and a local health center staff to design grassroots solutions to promote childhood nutrition, access to clean water, and malaria prevention. Inspired to continue serving the community, Heilmann extended her two-year Peace Corps commitment to work with the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative-funded Program for the Advancement of Malaria Outcomes (PAMO). She supported PAMO in the planning and implementation of a malaria surveillance pilot program among pregnant women attending antenatal care services.

Soon after starting that project, COVID-19 emerged. Though Heilmann became one of thousands of Peace Corps volunteers evacuated from her country of service, this didn’t stop her from staying the course with health education and service. During the evacuation and early waves of the pandemic, Heilmann shared emerging data with Zambian colleagues and fellow volunteers to dispel misinformation surrounding COVID-19. Though grateful to reconnect with family and friends during the pandemic, she was eager to return to Zambia, this time with the Public Health Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global Health Fellowship Program.

Now based in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka, Heilmann’s work focuses on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia through support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She leads PEPFAR’s partners in scaling up comprehensive HIV prevention services for high-risk populations. Heilmann’s efforts to develop innovative tools and strategies to roll out HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to pregnant and breastfeeding women were recognized by the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, and her collaboration with local partners led to a nearly four-fold increase in new clients initiated on PrEP in Zambia’s four CDC-supported provinces compared to the previous year.

Margaret McMahon ’17, ’20 M.Div.

Pastoral Associate, St. Francis Xavier Parish

Majors: Accounting, Theology

As a senior at Notre Dame, McMahon found herself studying the documents of the Second Vatican Council and was drawn to a particular phrase: “Thus … the laity consecrate the world itself to God.” After reading that line, she felt the Holy Spirit inspiring her to a new understanding of the role lay people play in the Church, one that viewed holiness as a universal call. Suddenly, the lay vocation felt like a true calling for McMahon, not just a “default” for those not in religious life. Turning down a lucrative offer from a Big Four public accounting firm, McMahon decided instead to enroll in Notre Dame’s Master of Divinity program upon graduation.

Shortly after completing her graduate studies in 2020, McMahon began her role as Pastoral Associate at St. Francis Xavier Church in La Grange, Illinois. In 2023 she completed her certification with the Institute for Pastoral Leadership in the Archdiocese of Chicago. As the only lay member of pastoral staff at her parish, McMahon coordinates adult faith formation, spearheads evangelization and spirituality programming, and is a leader in parish pastoral strategy in cooperation with the Archdiocesan Renew My Church initiative.

McMahon has shared her own spiritual journey with her parishioners, presenting reflections during the homily at several masses and providing a lay female voice for the St. Francis community. Most recently, McMahon has facilitated synodal listening sessions at the parish with special attention to re-thinking the leadership of women in the Church. She has also collaborated with Discerning Deacons, a group seeking to engage Catholics in the active discernment of the Church regarding women and the diaconate, in order to equip Cardinal Cupich with a report containing the personal testimonies of female leaders in the Church as he travels to Rome this October for the Synod.

In addition to her role as pastoral associate, McMahon is a licensed Fertility Care Practitioner in the Creighton Method and founded the St. Rita Fertility Care Center in La Grange. McMahon independently operates the Center and focuses on couples struggling with infertility and/or preparing for marriage, offering them valuable and life-affirming options.

McMahon’s primary vocation is her role as a wife and mother, believing that evangelization begins inside the home. She recently delivered her third child, David, who joins siblings Joan (2) and Peter (3). Her husband, Patrick ’17, ’18 MSA, is also a Double Domer.

Melissa Riordan ’18

John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellow, U.S. Department of Defense

Major: IT Management

While a student at Notre Dame, Melissa Riordan ’18 found herself pursuing experiences that planted the first seeds of a career in public service. After participating in a Student International Business Council (SIBC) consulting project with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and spending a semester in Washington, D.C. through Notre Dame’s Washington Program, Riordan found her passion for government work.

Following her Notre Dame graduation, Riordan began her professional career at Booz Allen, where she spent several years working at the Pentagon conducting policy and political-military analysis for senior leaders. During her time at Booz Allen, Riordan volunteered as a mentor for the Summer Games internship program and supported Booz Allen’s university recruiting efforts at Notre Dame. While working full-time, Riordan earned her masters degree in international security at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.

In 2022, Riordan was selected for the U.S. Department of Defense’s prestigious John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellowship, a one-year civilian assignment designed to provide leadership development for the commencement of a career track toward senior leadership within the Department of Defense. As a McCain Fellow, Riordan works for the Department of the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence as a Strategic Planner. 

Despite the demands of a career in national security, Riordan has played a key role in giving back to the programs that first inspired her to aim high in her career aspirations. Each semester, Riordan mentors current Notre Dame students in both the SIBC and Washington Program, offering them advice on the internship search and application process. She also conducts a policy visit each semester with the Washington Program, sharing her experiences at both Booz Allen and her fellowship to encourage and inform students about the opportunities that await them after graduation. Riordan also assists current Georgetown students as they navigate the application and interview processes for federal fellowship programs.

In her personal and professional life, Riordan works to serve a mission greater than herself and inspire the next generation of public servants. After completing her year as a McCain Fellow, Riordan intends to continue working for the Department of Defense.

Tony Guidotti ’20 MGA

Justice, Health, and Democracy Fellow, Edmund and Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University

Seeking to facilitate sustainable, integral human development at both home and abroad, Tony Guidotti ’20 MGA has made it his life’s vocation to examine and promote policy strategies that significantly improve individual and community well-being.

After graduating from Notre Dame’s Keough School with a masters in global affairs, Guidotti focused his talent and energy on serving his local community in South Bend. As an Innovation Fellow with enFocus during the COVID-19 pandemic, Guidotti partnered with municipal and county governments to create policy solutions tailored to the needs of the local South Bend region. During his fellowship, Guidotti led the design of a new housing plan for a rural Indiana community, developed a strategic reporting framework for a federally-funded workforce development agency in Northern Indiana, and designed and implemented an $8 million county-wide emergency rental assistance program. His decision to stay in South Bend after graduation greatly enhanced the lives of those in the community.

Guidotti’s passion for creating equitable policy solutions didn’t end with South Bend. At the global scale, as a research partner for Catholic Relief Services in Bangladesh and Uganda, Guidotti has helped to coordinate projects that study how humanitarian cash transfers could be leveraged to improve economic conditions for refugees. He also served as a Livelihood Consultant with Food for the Poor in Honduras, helping families in need to have greater access to nourishment, housing, and emergency relief.

Now, as a Justice, Health, and Humanity Fellow at Harvard University’s Edmund and Lily Safra Center for Ethics, Guidotti leads a research portfolio exploring the principles of economic dignity and how policy paradigms — including community wealth-building, property-owning democracy, and civil economy — provide opportunities for locally-rooted, comprehensive, and inclusive forms of prosperity. His work also examines the role of non-financial forms of wealth in integral human development, focusing on the well-being of the whole person and integrating tenets of Catholic Social Teaching into his research.

A first-generation college student, graduating from St. Thomas University in 2013, Guidotti is also the first in his family to receive a graduate-level education.

Lt. Walker Embrey ’17

Submarine Watch Officer, United States Navy

Major: Chemical Engineering

Lt. Walker Embrey ’17 has embodied the University’s adage “God, Country, Notre Dame,” not only in a career of public service to his country but also in volunteering his time and talents to help his local community.

Since graduating from Notre Dame, Lt. Embrey has served in multiple roles as a Naval Submarine Officer, demonstrating leadership, expertise, and selflessness in each mission. After injuries left the USS Illinois with a leadership deficit in its wardroom, Lt. Embrey volunteered for reassignment and deployed within a month on the first Virginia-class submarine deployment through the Bering Strait to the Arctic Ocean. He surfaced the USS Illinois through ice at the North Pole and worked to ensure vital systems remained safe and operated safely in the harshest environments across the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. In his three years of sea-time assignments, Lt. Embrey accrued more than 600 days underwater, sacrificing communication with family and friends in service of his country.

Outside of his military duties, Lt. Embrey has served as a weekly volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, helping to transform the youth program and leading service trips. While stationed in Hawaii, Lt. Embrey — an avid scuba diver — saw significant damage to the local reefs and began volunteering with Ocean Defenders Alliance to remove debris threatening the endangered ecosystem. After jet fuel contaminated the water of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and surrounding military housing, he helped to provide lodging and safe water to families during the holiday season.

Lt. Embrey has been awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service, the Humanitarian Service, and the Presidential Lifetime Volunteer Service Awards, honoring his 4,000+ hours of lifetime community service. His dedication to public military service has also earned him four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation and Achievement Medals and the 2022 USS Illinois Officer of the Year distinction. As a result of his notable leadership and knowledge, Lt. Embrey was asked to serve as a submarine force representative on two projects with Tactical Advancements for the Next Generation and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, helping to modernize warfighting capabilities, improve the quality of life for sailors, and enhance coordination between valuable military allies across the undersea domain.

In February 2023, Lt. Embrey reported to Naples, Italy, and currently serves as a Submarine Watch Officer and the liaison to the Naval Special Warfare community and key NATO Allies.